CNN –
A court ruling that found a school janitor not guilty of groping a student because the act lasted less than 10 seconds has sparked outrage in Italy.
In their decision, judges of the fifth criminal section of the Rome Court of Justice said they had acquitted the accused, a 66-year-old man, according to Italian state broadcaster RAI, of sexual assault because the whole thing lasted “about five to ten seconds.”
In her statement, the then 17-year-old girl said the crime happened in April 2022 while climbing the stairs at school with a friend, according to RAI.
She testified that she pulled up her pants and felt a hand in them, under her briefs, touch her buttocks, according to the July 6 judgment.
“Honey, you know I was joking,” the janitor said, according to the teen’s testimony mentioned in the verdict.
During the trial, the janitor admitted that he had touched the student, but had done so “for fun.”
The judges accepted the defense’s argument that the act was a “clumsy joke” with no “libidinal intention” towards the girl.
The decision caused outrage among students and sparked a viral trend on social media.
A local union representing high school students, Rete degli Studenti Medi del Lazio, said on Facebook: “It’s not a joke, there’s nothing funny about it.”
“It is unacceptable that we cannot feel protected at school. Once again the patriarchal system has triumphed, with the tacit support of institutions and politics. This model does not represent us, we will always be on the other side of the fence for a safe society based on respect,” they said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Italians have posted videos on Instagram and TikTok of touching a sensitive part of their body for ten seconds, marked by a timer to show that it is actually a fairly long period of time causing people discomfort and discomfort Change can cause a person’s life. The media are accompanied by the hashtags #10secondi and #palpatabreve (short button).
Among those to be reported on social media was The White Lotus actor Paolo Camilli, who posted a video with the caption, “Shouldn’t the state protect us?” on his Instagram account.